Chapter 168: Formation within a Formation

As Nan Feihuang revealed his strength.

The seven members of Exotic Beast Academy, who had originally charged toward him, stopped in their tracks as if they had slammed on the brakes.

"Cap... Captain, should we still charge at him?" Meng Yiran murmured. She was truly frightened by Nan Feihuang; at this age, with such a level and Spirit Ring configuration, "monster" was no longer enough to describe him—he was a freak of nature.

Saite's expression was even worse. "Damn it, the Flying General's strength is likely far above that of our Spirit Hall's Golden Generation. With a Spirit Ring configuration like that, even a two-on-one wouldn't guarantee a victory."

Originally, his confidence stemmed from the belief that their school's three Spirit Kings against two held the advantage, and that the others from Spirit Hall Academy could easily finish off the rest of Gu Lei Academy, making the defeat of the Flying General by the Golden Generation a foregone conclusion.

But the moment Nan Feihuang's Spirit Rings appeared, all his dreams were shattered.

Swish!

Suddenly, a blade of light flashed, and a bloody gash was cut directly into Long Yan's arm.

The outcome was decided.

It was likely the same for the others; the opponent had deliberately held back.

"Ah..."

Inside the Injury Gate, heavy hammer soldiers charged out, their heavy hammers, imbued with immense force, smashing into the seven members of Exotic Beast Academy one by one. The seven were seen being knocked out of the formation like birds, all landing outside the arena and falling unconscious.

While an Eight Gates Formation composed of a small number of people lacks the power of a massive army of hundreds of thousands, its mobility is far greater, especially in a Spirit Fighting Arena like this; as long as the few move, they can actively draw people into the formation.

"What do we do?" At this moment, Saite felt only bewilderment. Unable to think of a good method, he could only send another message to the Spirit Hall.

The only way was to use brute force to overcome the Mastery, relying on soul power far stronger than everyone inside the formation to break it open directly.

But Exotic Beast Academy clearly did not possess such profound cultivation.

Xun Yu had said today that he had a new idea he wanted to test.

The seven dodged and rolled, barely avoiding a round of attacks.

The cultivation of all the soldiers within the formation was linked, allowing them to even clash a few times with a Spirit Emperor or Spirit Saint. If Nan Feihuang were to enter the formation as well, it was estimated that even if he, a Spirit Douluo, entered personally, he could not disperse the formation in one or two moves.

"What is that?" Meng Yiran held her snake staff, dealing with attacks that came from nowhere, but she could not fully defend against them, and the wounds on her body grew more numerous.

Even if the other side wanted to meet all changes with constancy, it was absolutely impossible.

"Damn it, Fourth Soul Skill, Dragon Rage!" Long Yan's muscles suddenly bulged, his strength instantly doubling, and he forcibly stopped his momentum. "Everyone, we absolutely cannot be pulled over there, otherwise we are finished."

"No, this old man must stop this match; Yiran and the others cannot break this formation." Long Gong was somewhat anxious. He could see that once this formation took shape, and the opponent did not enter from Nan Feihuang's position, then trying to break the formation through skill was a pipe dream.

The seven Chain Hammer Soldiers exerted force simultaneously, pulling Exotic Beast Academy toward the Injury Gate, where sixteen heavy hammer soldiers with astonishing attack power were waiting for them.

"Yiran!" Long Gong and She Po rushed over to check on their granddaughter, letting out a sigh of relief after an inspection.

Exotic Beast Academy dared not charge and could not retreat; just by hesitating for a moment, they were covered by the Open Gate and trapped within the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation.

Before long, the seven members of Exotic Beast Academy found their bodies or necks entangled by chain hammers.

Long Yan looked at Nan Feihuang with some hesitation, his footsteps retreating. Why keep charging? It was just asking to be slaughtered.

Afterward, he stopped caring; even if the Pope wanted to send people to intercept and kill Nan Feihuang, it was no longer his business.

This was the capability of the Seven-Star Chain Hammer Formation, and the new tactic Xun Yu wanted to test today: a formation within a formation.

The eight Chain Hammer Soldiers belonging to the Du Gate, excluding the one still guarding the gate, had the other seven take up the positions of the Big Dipper and throw their chain hammers toward Exotic Beast Academy.

The excruciating pain throughout his body caused his strength to plummet, and he could no longer support the power of the Seven-Star Chain Hammer Formation; all seven were dragged toward the Injury Gate.

"Quick, dodge!" Long Yan shouted.

"Many thanks to the Flying General and this young friend for showing mercy, and congratulations on your victory." Long Gong still had some grace and admitted defeat openly.

Yet the seven Chain Hammer Soldiers, aided by the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation, had an endless flow of internal energy, and the powerful force generated instantly shattered Yu E's silk threads.

Then, each person attacked at will, and every flying hammer split into seven; in the sky, it seemed as if forty-nine flying hammers formed a giant net, shrouding everyone.

It was too late to regret it now.

Although this matter had not been announced to the general public, the Tournament Committee, jointly formed by Heaven Dou, Star Luo, and the Spirit Hall, had been notified long before the tournament began, and the high-level officials of all major powers had known about it for a long time.

They were merely knocked unconscious by the shock; although there were many wounds on their bodies, they were only skin-deep, and with the physique of a Spirit Master, they would recover in a few days, and not even scars would remain.

"As expected of the captain, the Dragon Martial Soul can be considered a leader among high-tier martial souls." Nan Feihuang praised. "However, besides the Injury Gate and Death Gate which can subdue enemies, the Eight Gates Golden Lock also has a Surprise Gate."

Attacks launched from this position are absolutely impossible to see.

Screams came from within the formation; all seven members of Exotic Beast Academy were wounded, especially Long Yan, who was the primary target and was covered in bloody gashes.

Since the other side had already entered the formation, he did not need to act again; he only needed to watch quietly from the outside.

The heavy hammers resembled the Clear Sky Hammer and were heavy weapons used to strike opponents with blunt force.

"Du Gate, Seven-Star Flying Hammer Formation!"

Xun Yu stood in the center of the formation, pointed his arm forward, and the Eight Gates Formation pushed forward.

This was the Surprise Ambush Gate, the position where the ambush was hidden.

"First Soul Skill, Spit Silk!" Yu E sprayed countless silk threads, attempting to entangle these chain hammers.

Inside the formation, the seven members of Exotic Beast Academy looked around guardedly, not daring to attack rashly, and could only huddle back-to-back.

Seeing this, Nan Feihuang retracted his martial soul.

One must know, he lived in Gu Lei Royal City and could not afford to offend Lan Xue.

This year, Spirit Hall Academy was likely in danger as well. If it were any other year, it wouldn't matter; losing would just be a slight loss of face, but this year's prize was a full three soul bones—losing them would be a massive loss.

The Profound Ice Douluo Lan Xue's talent was already astonishing back in her day; he hadn't expected her son to be even more terrifying than her.

"If you aren't going to move, then we are going to attack!" Nan Feihuang laughed.

The seven people of the Seven-Star Chain Hammer Formation advanced and retreated together; if one person couldn't pull, the others had no way to exert force, which could be considered a drawback of this formation.

News of it had spread quite a bit, so even rogue Spirit Masters like Dugu Bo from the original work could know of this information.

Nan Feihuang did not appear overly arrogant, cupping his hands and saying, "I accept your concession!"

Seeing this, the referee immediately announced, "The match is over, the seven members of Exotic Beast Academy are out, and this match is won by Gu Lei Royal Academy."

(End of chapter)